


Here is Home

by UngratefulSatisfaction



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Homesickness, Language Barrier, Lee Taeyong is a mom, Pineapple on pizza debate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 08:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14733603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UngratefulSatisfaction/pseuds/UngratefulSatisfaction
Summary: Yukhei is feeling homesick for Hong Kong. Taeyong gets worried then Sicheng comes up with a plan to fix it. Featuring language barrier frustration and general light angst about missing home.





	Here is Home

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was somewhat inspired by https://archiveofourown.org/works/7919650  
> Very cute TaeWin stuff 10/10 would recommend

Yukhei is used to it by now. He’s used to the internal pressure in his mind from not being able to express himself. He laughs it off and pretends that it doesn’t bother him that he can’t get his feelings across properly. His Korean has gotten better in the few months, the increase of necessity driving it forward.

He was going to debut. He had lines. Suddenly Yukhei’s mistakes were hard to laugh off. His Mandarin got better much faster than his Korean, and while that released some pressure because he was at least able to speak to some people, his heart still hurt when he was left alone. When he was with the other U members and without Sicheng. 

The others never said anything aside from the occasional kind-hearted joke, but Yukhei could tell they were also frustrated. They were frustrated he had to keep practicing his pronunciation on the lines and took too long to reply to anything. It has to go in one ear, get translated, go to the mouth, then come out with care. It takes too long and Yukhei knows this. He hates it.

“Are you okay?” Taeyong asks jarringing Yukhei from his thoughts. The sounds of the café invade his thoughts and he's caught off guard that he lost his reality so much.

“Yes,” Yukhei says. It’s an easy interaction using words he learned in his first week of Korean. But his heart still picks up its pace, the Chinese flow in his head cut off as Yukhei is thrown to the fast rapids of Korean.

Taeyong must not like his answer. He frowns and lightly touches Yukhei’s wrist. Doyoung and Mark don’t seem to notice. They’re bickering over an inconsequential topic. “You seem distracted,” Taeyong says. “Or, sad even.”

“It’s nothing,” Yukhei says. Taeyong doesn’t seem convinced, but he allows his attention to go back to what the other two are squabbling about. Yukhei fiddles with the straw in his drink as he tries to follow the conversation.

As always, he catches a few words and maybe starts piecing together the story, but he knows he’s still missing the nuances. “Hyung,” Yukhei says interrupting. “What does that mean?”

There’s no inclination that any of them are upset as Doyoung answers, slipping basic Mandarin in when necessary. They’re patient as always and Yukhei tries to ignore the hatred at himself from causing them this. When Doyoung is done Yukhei nods like he doesn’t have any more questions. 

He lets them get back to their conversation. He laughs when they laugh and pray he doesn’t have to know what they’re saying. They’re talking too fast, too excited and his head already hurts too much. He resolves himself to just study more when he gets time later instead of struggling right now.

“Lucas,” Mark calls. Yukhei’s attention snaps to him. Mark says something but Yukhei doesn’t catch it. He must be making a confused expression because Mark repeats it slower. “Is pineapple an acceptable pizza topping?” 

“Acceptable…” The Chinese word for it comes through and Yukhei can’t help smiling at his small success. “Yeah.” 

“What?” Mark bemoans. “Why?” Yukhei just shrugs. He has a proper argument, but the necessary words escape him. They all laugh it off as Yukhei being eccentric. 

He wonders if any of his members think he’s stupid. He doesn’t blame them, because he speaks like a child in the only language they understand. In Mandarin or Cantonese, he sounds intelligent and it pains him to trip over his words like a toddler when he speaks Korean. 

Suddenly, he sees the others gathering up the trash. “Let’s go,” Doyoung says cheerfully as they all stand. Yukhei nods and helps them clean the table. They leave the café. 

“Where are we going?” Yukhei asks. He wants to curse when an R sound comes out like an L. He looks out the window to see the twilight coloring of the city streets.

“Back home,” Doyoung answers. “We have schedules in about an hour.” Yukhei nods and walks with them. 

He does remember the schedules now that they’ve mentioned it. He’s supposed to go with Sicheng to practice Korean. They’re apparently at about the same level. Renjun is of course doing great, and Chenle and Kun are close behind. Yukhei still struggles alongside Sicheng.

They split at the elevators. Taeyong, Mark, and Doyoung go to the floor with the practice rooms while Yukhei goes to the dorm floor. He has to grab his books before going to the classroom. The others get off the elevator first, so he’s left alone.

Sicheng is already in the classroom, scrolling through his phone. He looks up at Yukhei with a smile as he enters, but it soon falls. “What’s wrong?” Sicheng asks. The Mandarin flows easily into Yukhei’s ears. He shrugs like it’s a joke and laughs.

“Just frustrated,” Yukhei says. He can forgive his pronunciation in Mandarin, especially with Sicheng since his pronunciation isn’t the standard either. 

Sicheng nods in response, needing no explanation. At least when they do shows Yukhei has Sicheng to talk to freely. Sicheng debuted without any other Chinese members, only knowing Korean about as well as any of the others knew Mandarin. Even when he’s with Sicheng, Yukhei will feel lonely sometimes. He can’t imagine how Sicheng must have felt when he debuted. “I swear,” Yukhei says ruefully as he sits beside Sicheng. “They must think I’m stupid.” Sicheng shrugs.

“That’s probably how they thought of me the first few months,” Sicheng says without bitterness. 

“Yeah, but you’re weird anyway, _Gege_ ,” Yukhei teases. It gets Sicheng to laugh and his own spirits rise a bit.

“Still,” Sicheng says trying to be comforting. “They sound stupid when they speak Mandarin. It’s just the way it is.” Yukhei sighs. He folds his arms on the table and rests a cheek on them, looking up at Sicheng through the bangs in front of his eyes.

“It’s still frustrating.”

“I know.” Sicheng sounds sad when he says it, but his face plays impassive as he messes around on his phone. Yukhei definitely doesn’t regret going to Korea. He doesn’t regret becoming an idol. He’s loved every second of it. Except for his failure in the language.

“Let’s study,” Yukhei says sitting up straight. He pulls out his notebook and searches for a pencil.

“What’s this?” Sicheng teases. “Xuxi wants to study before the teacher gets here? You must be really depressed.” His voice is light and Yukhei laughs to cover his true feelings.

“Shut up,” Yukhei says switching to Korean.

“Okay,” Sicheng says matching language. He pulls out his own notebook.

The teacher joins them a few minutes later and praises them for being so hardworking. It’s a three-hour lesson and the teacher must be in a good mood because they joke all throughout it. Yukhei is less frustrated as the lesson goes. The teacher speaks Mandarin, and Yukhei is at peace surrounded by people who could properly understand him. He spoke only in Korean in order to study harder, but it was still comforting to know that if he forgot a Korean word, he could still express it in Mandarin. 

“Thank you for your hard work,” the teacher says dismissing them. Sicheng and Yukhei thank her back before heading to their rooms.

“We don’t have any more schedule for the day, right?” Yukhei asks forcing out Korean.

“Right,” Sicheng says. “That sentence sounded good.” Yukhei laughs from the praise, embarrassed that Sicheng complimented him.

“Thank you, _Gege_. Hyung did well today.”

“Aiyoo, you can’t just use both titles like that in a single sentence,” Sicheng says reverting back to Mandarin.

“Do you remember when Mark though Kun Hyung’s name was Kun-ge?” Yukhei asks. After hours of hard studying the Korean comes out easier.

“Like I said earlier,” Sicheng says not bothering to switch. “They all sound stupid when trying to speak Mandarin.” They enter the elevator, which is blissfully empty. “But we know that they aren’t stupid.” Sicheng looks at him seriously and Yukhei has to stop holding his intense gaze.

“Honestly,” Sicheng continues. “Our members are some of the most understanding people I’ve met in Korea. They don’t really tease us for not knowing Korean or for mispronouncing things. To be completely honest, I get more shit from other Chinese people about my accent than any of our members. Except for maybe Yuta-ge. He’s ruthless.”

Yukhei only laughs in response. Even as he brushes it off, Yukhei is certain Sicheng knows how much that meant to him, how comforting it was. He already knew these things, but they were lost in his sour mood today. He’s glad Sicheng is here to remind him. It takes the rest of the walk to the dorm for Yukhei to finally say, _“thank you, Gege.”_

“No problem,” Sicheng says easily. He opens the door, a small smirk cutting his lips. Yukhei is confused, but then the smell hits him and he becomes shocked.

“What is this?” Yukhei asks in both languages consecutively. It smells so familiar, but he can’t place it. But before he can properly step inside to see what the smell is, Yuta appears in front of them, blocking the view.

“No,” Yuta says. “Go away. It’s not ready.” He’s smiling when he says it, even as he pushes them out and closes the door in their faces.

“Wha—?” Yukhei starts.

“How long?” Sicheng asks.

“Thirty minutes,” Kun’s voice answers. Now Yukhei is more confused.

“What is this?” Yukhei asks as Sicheng drags him away. “What is Yuta-ge doing in our dorm?” Sicheng shrugs but Yukhei can tell from his smile that he knows what’s happening.

“Don’t worry.” They go back to the elevators and Sicheng presses the button for the ground floor. “Let’s get pastries for tonight,” Sicheng says. 

“Didn’t the managers say we’re on a diet?” Yukhei asks. 

“Shh,” Sicheng says. He leads him down streets that aren’t familiar to Yukhei. They walk between the crowds, Sicheng sure of their path. 

“And I know you don’t like sweet things, so we can get something sour.”

“Yeah, but the others like sweet things.”

“Don’t worry,” Sicheng repeats. He ducks into a pastry shop that surprises Yukhei. His heart hurts with homesickness as he sees Hanzi on the walls describing pastries he’s had in China.

“Kun-ge showed me this,” Sicheng says. “It’s a Chinese chain, probably. I think I saw a couple in my hometown.”

“Me too,” Yukhei says. He’s mystified looking at all the sweets. It feels like a reflection of home, especially when he hears the store keeper greet them in Mandarin.

They end up leaving with egg tarts since they aren’t too sweet. Sicheng offers to hold the bag as they walk back to the dorm. He checks his phone and declares, “it should be finished now.”

“What’s finished?” Yukhei asks growing anxious. His spirits have gotten better from being with Sicheng and getting pastries. But he’s still not exactly happy and being out of the loop isn’t helping.

“You’ll see,” Sicheng says with a teasing tone. Yukhei bothers him the whole way back to the dorms, going between begging and being stern. Sicheng only chuckles at him and keeps quiet. Finally, back at the dorm, Yukhei gets his answer.

Chenle greets him in Mandarin at the door. Yukhei is numb from trying to identify the smell as Chenle drags him to the kitchen, Sicheng trailing behind. 

Everyone is crowded around the floor table and Yukhei has to blink his eyes to make sure he’s seeing properly. They hardly ever all get together for dinner unless they go out. But here, there’s a home cooked meal with everyone. 

“What is this?” Yukhei asks in disbelief. The scent registers as he looks at the food on the table. He hears Taeyong count to three quietly under his breath before they all speak to him in Cantonese, tripping over the syllables cutely.

_“Welcome home.”_

“What is this?” Yukhei whines with a smile, trying not to cry. 

“Winwin said you were feeling homesick,” Kun says. “And Taeyong Hyung was worried about you. So we thought we’d attempt to make comfort food.”

“Offal stew,” Yukhei whispers letting Renjun pull on his hand to sit beside him. “You made this?”

“Taeyonggie and Kun,” Yuta says. 

“Yeah, the others just made a mess,” Taeyong jokes. “Jaehyun and Doyoung helped, though.”

“Hey,” Mark says offended. “I cleaned the meat.”

“But we hope it tastes okay,” Johnny says. “We weren’t quite sure, but Kun looked up a recipe.”

“It smells great,” Yukhei says still in shock. He stares at the broth swirling with oil, half cooked tripe ebbing throughout. 

“Taste it,” Jaehyun says. “We made it extra spicy for you.”

They all wait in anticipation as Yukhei takes a bite. “It’s perfect,” Yukhei says immediately. It’s tastes spicier than normal, but it warms his heart. The offal is slightly undercooked and rubbery, the usual texture he would get from the restaurants he frequented in Hong Kong. The turnips are soft as he chews them, and tears roll down his cheeks. “It’s perfect.”

“That’s good,” Taeyong says warmly. “We want you to be happy here. It’s not Canton, or Hong Kong, or even China. But we all love you like family.” Taeyong looks around and makes eye contact with all the foreign members. “I know it can be hard to see this as home for some of you, but I think home is where family is. So let’s be each other’s second family, okay?”

“Yeah,” Yukhei answers. None of them have teased him about his tears; Renjun comfortingly pats his leg and Doyoung squeezes his hand on his other side. “Korea will be the second home.” Taeyong smiles so wide in response, Yukhei can’t help laughing. “Let’s all eat now.”

“This is my first time having Hong Kong food,” Jisung says as he pokes around the soup.

“They did a good job,” Yukhei says. “It’s very…” he asks Renjun how to say the next word he wants to say. “Authentic. Very authentic. Like my grandmother’s.”

“It’s interesting,” Johnny says. “Is the meat supposed to be like this?”

“Yeah,” Yukhei answers. “It’s supposed to be a little raw.” He looks around to see everyone eating well and enjoying the cooking.

“We should do this more often,” Jaehyun says. “Make food from our foreign members’ cultures.”

“I can teach you all how to make takoyaki,” Yuta says excitedly.

“Oh yeah, our takoyaki prince,” Mark jokes around a mouth full of food.

“What’s traditional Canadian food?” Johnny asks in a teasing tone. “Mable syrup and snow?”

“Actually, it is in some places,” Mark says. “Pour the syrup on freshly fallen snow, scoop it up on a stick and eat it.”

“Bro, that’s kinda gross,” Ten says. “But we could do tom yum soup.”

“Or a Shanghai dish,” Chenle says. 

Everyone is excited talking about future meals and Yukhei feels full in stomach and heart. After the soup bowls are cleared, Sicheng passes out tarts for everyone and Kun makes tea. Though Yukhei doesn’t quite understand all the Korean said, he stays relaxed. Yukhei might be far from Canton, but at least tonight, surrounded by people who care about him, he feels like he’s home.


End file.
